This invention relates to an electronic bag toss game, and in particular to a bag toss game that is entirely automatic, having sensors for determining when a bag falls into each particular hole, and having scoring devices for keeping track of and displaying the scores of a number of different players, as determined by which holes each player has thrown each bag.
The basic idea of a bag toss game, also referred to as a bean bag game, is very old indeed. In fact, the Parker patent, U.S. Pat. No. 922,717, is a 1909 patent directed to an improvement of the game, implying that the game existed some time before then. With the Parker invention, however, as with earlier versions of bean bag games, the score had to be computed manually generally after all the bags had been tossed, resulting in a slower and less exciting game.
The Keller patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,076, discloses a target board having electrically conductive areas separated by electrically insulative areas, wherein the conductive areas alternate in the polarity of their connection to a power source. A bean bag with an electrically conductive coating is thrown onto the target board, and the score determined by which conductive areas are connected by the bag coating. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the conductive areas of the board must be exposed, presenting a hazard to any person touching them. Further, it may be difficult to sense whether contact has been truly made, since the bag may slide from one conductive area to another before it comes to a stop, making contact with a number of different conductive areas along the way. Further, a special bag is required to be used, having a conductive outer coating, which would add to the expense of manufacturing and selling, and therefore playing, the game.
This invention relates to improvements to the apparatus described above and to solutions to the problems raised thereby.